White House Announces Climate Change Initiatives

MISSOULA, Mont. — President Obama announced a series of climate change initiatives on Wednesday aimed at guarding the electricity supply; improving local planning for flooding, coastal erosion and storm surges; and better predicting landslide risks as sea levels rise and storms and droughts intensify.

The actions, involving a variety of federal agencies, were among the recommendations of the president’s State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, a group of 26 officials who have worked since November to develop the proposals.

One of the projects involves shoring up the power supply during climate catastrophes, and the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday awarded a total of $236.3 million to eight states to improve electricity infrastructure in rural areas. A government study released in May concluded that climate change would strain utility companies’ ability to deliver power as extreme weather damaged power lines and hotter temperatures drove surges in demand.

The Agriculture Department also announced new funds to help rural areas that are struggling with drought, although the White House has not said how much money would be allocated.

Tackling another of the recommendations, the United States Geological Survey and other federal agencies said they would spend $13.1 million to develop advanced three-dimensional mapping data that would allow cities and states to draft strategies in responding to weather-related disasters.

In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs unveiled a $10 million program to train tribes on climate change adaptations, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a guide titled “Assessing Health Vulnerability to Climate Change” to help identify health hazards that might be caused by climate change.

The new initiatives are part of a broader White House push to build support for Mr. Obama’s climate agenda. Last month, he detailed an Environmental Protection Agency plan directing states to submit proposals to curb carbon pollution from power plants. The plan takes direct aim at coal-fired plants, the nation’s largest source of carbon pollution, and lawmakers from coal-dependent states have called it a “war on coal.” The plan is expected to curb demand for coal, shutter coal plants and reduce coal mining jobs.

Despite the pushback from coal-producing areas, Mr. Obama hopes to build political support for the plan by highlighting the local damage that climate change is expected to cause.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: White House Announces Climate Change Initiatives. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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